Observatory’s quick reflexes capture fleeting flash
Rapid follow-up of the optical afterglow from one of the most distant confirmed short gamma-ray bursts (SGRB), thought to be the merger of two neutron stars, is casting new light on these enigmatic objects. The observations, made by the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, confirmed the object’s distance and placed it squarely in the epoch of cosmic high noon, when the Universe was in its “teenage years” and rapidly forming stars. The appearance of an SGRB so early in the history of the Universe could alter theories about their origin, in particular how long it takes two neutron stars to merge to produce these powerful events. Precisely-localized SGRBs are rare, typically only 7-8 are detected per year, and this is the most distant high-confidence SGRB with an optical afterglow detection.
phys.org
Go to Source
2020-07-14
